You Know it's Coming...

Winter in Chicago. It's nothing to sneeze at. Although we certainly don't have the top honors for the harshest winter for a major city in North America (Minneapolis, Edmonton, Montreal, Anchorage, anybody else?) , winter in Chicago is definitely a challenge. Our city is particularly dense , and when the heavy, white stuff falls from the sky it gets pretty rough downtown. The CCU is aware of this, and at some recent meetings, we brainstormed some ideas on what we can do to help Chicago messengers.
The first answer was an obvious one: get the rookies some veteran knowledge to help them get through the winter. We are going to include an expanded section in the 2010 CCU New Rider Guide to help new messengers survive their first Chicago winter out in the streets.
The second was a little more complicated. We all talked about our experiences last winter, and almost everyone at the meeting had fallen on ice at some point last winter while trying to enter a building through the alley. Generally, buildings are very diligent about shoveling and salting the front entrances to their buildings. This is because they get a lot of foot traffic coming in and out of their buildings. But the rear entrances are left to the elements. Typically, the alley entrances to buildings are left alone all winter with neither the City or the building staff taking responsibility for the icy conditions. The snow and ice isn't dealt with in any way until there is a warm, sunny day and it melts on it's own. The building managers feel like this is fine, because the only people who use the alley entrance are service people, and the majority of them drive vehicles into the loading docks, so they don't actually have to walk on snow and ice. The only people whom this policy really affects are walking and bicycle messengers, who have to try to figure out how to get from the shoveled sidewalk into the loading dock of a building without slipping and falling on ice. The CCU holds building managers fully responsible for this situation. Yes, it would be nice if the city would get out there and plow the alleys right away. But they don't. The building managers know that this is a dangerous situation, but they still force messengers to go in through the back door to enter their buildings.
There was one example of this last winter, at our favorite building, 525 W. Monroe. A CCU member was doing a round trip at the building (which has a very nasty alley entrance in the winter). He witnessed "Crasher" slip on the ice and take a nasty fall. "Crasher" wasn't injured, but it really hurt to fall on the ice like that, so he went into the building and complained to management about it. Management responded that it wasn't their responsibility to maintain the alley, and there wasn't anything they could do about it. "Crasher" was pissed off and stormed out of the building. As soon as he left, building management sprung into action, presumably under the direction of Heather Holdermann, the general manager for the building. They immediately salted, shoveled, and plowed the alley down to dry, clean asphalt. Paul, the head of security for 525 W. Monroe was then spotted by the CCU member (who was completing his round trip) out in the alley, in his suit and tie, taking digital photographs of the alley. The only possible explanation for Paul's sudden interest in winter photography was that he was trying to avoid a lawsuit. A class act, to be sure. So, if they understand that this is a dangerous situation, why don't they do anything about it? The CCU is trying to force the issue this winter. The following letter went out earlier this month:
This letter is to inform you of a serious safety concern for bicycle and walking messengers entering your building to perform their jobs during the winter months. Right now, all messengers are forced to enter your building through the loading dock, regardless of the type of vehicle, if any, that they are using. This is a serious problem for walking and bicycle messengers, who must traverse 20-30 yards of icy, snow-covered alley, which is not maintained in any way during the winter months. This is in stark contrast to the front entrance of the building, which is constantly salted and shoveled during any snowy weather.
The Chicago Couriers Union is aware of many cases where messengers have slipped on ice and fallen while trying to access loading docks during this past winter. It is surprising and fortunate that no one was seriously injured. The CCU feels that this is an avoidable situation, which is completely within the control of building managers such as yourself. The solution to the problem is simple: either allow messengers to enter the building through the front entrance of your building, or maintain the alley entrance of the building to the same standards as the front entrance.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

We have received several phone calls from building managers about this already, and expect to receive many letters about this campaign. If you are a messenger, the CCU is looking out for you this winter. Why not show up to a meeting and see how you can help out?